the Farming of the Duchies of Schlesioig and Hohtein. 311 
enable the reader to understand the characteristics of the agri- 
culture of the country. And, first of all, as to the unit of mea- 
surement. In England we have the acre, in France and Belgium 
there is the hectare, and in Germany the inoryen : all measures of 
a larger or smaller extent of land-surface. But in Denmark, 
although there is a superficial land-measure, known as a tonde, 
equal to about li acre, yet it is not used as a basis of taxation 
or in matters of law, except in combination with its estimated 
productive power in terms of another tonde, which is a corn- 
measure equal to 34- bushels. In other words, all legislative 
enactments relating to the land, whether for puiposes of taxation, 
or for those other objects which will be presently adverted to, 
take into account not only the extent of the land, but also 
its producing power, or rather its " natural fertility," as it was 
estimated in 1840, when the scale now in use was arranged. 
For administrative purposes the quality of the land has been 
reckoned in hard-corn, viz. barley and rye,* in contradistinction 
to " soft-corn," such as oats ; therefore, instead of speaking, as 
we do, of so many acres of land having a rateable value of so 
much per acre, it is usual in Denmark to speak of so many 
tonder-land taxed at so many tonder of hard-corn. In reality 
the tcinde of hard-corn is simply the quantity of corn which 
represents the basis of the land-tax, the assessment having been 
made upon its average production, as ascertained in the year 
1840 ; and all other rates and taxes are assessed on the same 
basis. The several qualities of land have been divided into 
twenty-five classes, commencing with No. 0 as the worst, or worth- 
less, land, and ending with jVo. 24, as the best soil in the kingdom. 
The land-tax is assessed upon 1 tonde of hard-corn for every 
6 tonder-land of the best quality of soil ; and the nature of the 
gradation between the qualities is shown by the taxation of the 
medium quality being 1 tonde of hard-corn for every 12 tonder- 
land of surface. In English this would represent an assess- 
ment upon one bushel of corn for every 4 acres of medium land, 
or 2 acres of the best land ; and the average for the whole 
country, according to Professor Wilson, is upon 1 tonde of 
hard-corn for each 20 tonder-land of occupied surface, or, in 
other words, upon 1 bushel of corn for about 7 acres of land. 
It must be understood, however, that neither the land-tax nor any 
other charges on the land are now paid in corn, the quantity of 
hard-corn being what Ave should term the " rateable value." It 
will be seen, on p. 332, that the Crown taxes amount to about 
1/. 2s. 6(/. per tonde of hard-corn. The local taxes vary in 
* Wheat was not cultivated as a farm-crop when this basis of taxation was 
arranged. 
Y 2 
